462 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE";^ AND: COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ June 5, 1873. 



great. True, honey-yielding flowers are not indigenous to the 

 region of chimney-pots, but innumerable flowers of numeroiis 

 species find a lodgment on the jutting edges of the white cUffs 

 about Dover; and certainly, were it not for the visit of Mr. 

 Pettitt'a army of workers, they would have to " blush unseen 

 and waste their sweetness." 



Even the instinct of the bee can be improved by education, 

 and very apt pupils the little insects seem to be under Mr. 

 Pettitt's teaching. The improvement on the natural method 

 is to induce the bees to build their comb in frames. The idea of 

 placing straight bars across the top of the hive to help the bees 

 in commencing their work is a very old one, but it proved to be 

 of little advantage. The addition of three other sides, making a 

 complete frame, was the first approach to real improvement. 

 This frame not only compels the bees to construct iheir comb 

 entirely strai^jht, but it also gives facilities for examining the 

 comb while the work is in progress. The other day we saw a 

 practical illustration of the value of these frames when on a visit 

 to Mr. Pettitt's apiary. We had expressed a wish to see the 

 queen that presided over a certain hive, and Mr. Pettitt, with 

 his usual courtesy, undertook to introduce us to her majesty. 

 The hive being a bar-frame one, he took out frame after frame, 

 notwithstanding that they were filled with comb and covered 

 with bees, and ultimately the queen was discovered with a num- 

 ber of her subjects clustered round her. These bar-frame hives 

 are made in great numbers at Mr. Pettitt's establishment, with 

 certain improvements which his long experience has suggested. 

 One valuable improvement in the Pettitt bar-frame hive is that 

 the top bars of the frames project quite through the back and 

 front of the hive. This projection greatly facilitates the lifting 

 or removal of the frames, which rest in a pair of patent metallic 

 bar-holders, invented by Mr. Pettitt some ten years since, and 

 are now extensively used in all parts of the kingdom. Mr. 

 Pettitt's observatory hive is very interesting. It revolves on a 

 turntable, has glass sides, and is so arranged that all parts of 

 the comb can be examined when the bees are in full work with- 

 out taking out the frames. 



A gi-eat feature of Mr. Pettitt's apiary now is the general in- 

 troduction of the Ligurian bees, found between the two chains 

 to the right and left of Lombardy and the Rhsetian Alps. They 

 are more prolific, less sensitive to cold, and more docile than 

 the common English bee. Throughout the country the Ligu- 

 rians are rapidly replacing the common black bees. During the 

 summer months Mr. Pettitt receives importations of Ligurian 

 queens. These beautiful queens being successfully introduced 

 into an English stock iu lieu of its native queen, the whole colony 

 become pure Ligurians in a few months. — [Dove?- Neivs.) 



Gainseoeough Poultry S^ow. — This is in connection with 

 the Lincolnshire Agricultural Society. The prizes are good, and 

 the town of Gainsborough gives some £5 prizes in addition. The 

 entries close on the 21st inst. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Age for Koosting {White Dorkritfj).—Ii the fowls can and do find a 

 tolerably sheltered and comfortable &pot, it will not hui-t them to roost. The 

 nights me phort at this time of year, and sometimes they are warm. We do 

 not think it will hurt them at this time of year. 



Fleas in Poultry-hotjre {J. G.). — Sweep the walls with bii-nh brooms. 

 Stop all ciacts, fill all holes, then lime-white the whole of it, putting it on 

 thick and wet. Take cfF the t-nrface of Ibe floor, and put down another of 

 clay and lime, or chalk mixed, and rammed or trodden down hard. Very often 

 the fowls bring the fleas into the house instead of catching them there. 

 "Wherever fowls cannot take their duet bath tbey will have fleas. They should 

 have heaps of duet, road grit, and bricklayers" rubbish about tbeii- haunts. 

 This is the only ture preventive against vermin. 



Eggs UNrBonucTivE {Mrs. Dallas). — Your complaint is almost the uni- 

 versal cue. Ficm all quarters people write to ask why their eggs hatch so 

 badly. TVe attribute much of it to the bitter east wind. "We do not know 

 what the ''winter wind" was in thakeRpeare's time, but man's ingratitude 

 must be very great indeed if it be worse than the wind we have bad fur some 

 months. It makes the hens sit hollow; if they are in contact with it, it makes 

 them fidgetty ; if the eggs ai-o left a little longer than usual -while the hen is 

 off, it dries and chills them. We believe much disappointment will be pre- 

 vented if the hens aie always confined when tbey are sitting. We do not 

 mean to be shut in an outbc ufo with a locked door, but at liberty to leave the 

 nests if tbey chooee ; but to be shut in a fmall basket. We have made 

 capital nests with butter fiikins, sometimes knocking uut the top, sometimes 

 the top and bottom. In these caf^es we have a lid to cover the top. We have 

 just passed through the season for batching Pbeaeants' eggs. As the eggs of 

 these birds are to be had only for a limited period, and cannot be replaced if 

 spoUed, every precaution is used to avoid failure. In many cases th« boxes 

 in which the hens 6it are so low they do not allow the bij-ds to raise them- 

 selves off the eggs. Wbolepalo loss, such as you speak of, is unk-nown to 

 them, and, viewing the hatching season now drawing to a close, we are dis- 

 posed to think the subject of sitting is not sufliciently studied. Ere long 

 we promise our readers a paper on the subject. In the meantime we advise 

 our con-etpondent to shut her sitting hens in the tub in which they are, 

 and to moisten the eggs erery day after the first week when the hen is off 

 the nest. 



Bees Bcilding from the Boaud and Sides of Glasses {Hortus). — 

 ■Wben bees work upwards in glasses their combs often fall over, and much 

 time and labour are lost in repairing damages and renewing the fabric ; there- 



fore it is better to have some sort of wooden framework inside, with guide 

 combs affixed, to enable the bees to work with efftct and econtmy of labour. 

 We ourselves have long ago discarded glasses, and use low supers with side 

 windows. 



Dysentery in Ligurians (An Ulversion Bec-'keeper).~-Yo-ar case is an un- 

 happy one. There is no cure for dysenteiy so good as to transfer the bees to 

 an entirely new hive, which is easy at this period of the year. But we never 

 heard of dysentery so late in the season as this. There must be some pecu- 

 liarity in the position or circumstances of your stocks of which we are 

 igncrant. We bhould drive cut the bees, and if necessaiy make an artificial 

 swarm of them, or it may be enough tu cut away the foul comb. 



3VIETE0R0L0GICAL OBSERVATIONS, 



Camden Square, London. 



Lat. 51° 32' 40" N. ; Long. 0° 8^ 0" W. ; Altitude 111 feet. 



BEMAEKS. 

 2Sth. — Pleasant day, cloudy at times and cool; sunshine good part of the day. 

 29th. — Brilliant morning ; rather cloudy aftei-noon ; fine evening, but rain 



at 11 P.M. 

 30th. — Fine bright day, though cool and rather cloudy at intervals. 

 3lst. — Cool cloudy morning; fine and warm in the afternoon. 

 June Ist. — Windy and dull; early rain at 8.45 a.m., heavy shower. Rather 



dull day, and very cold iu the evening. 

 2nd. — Fine and bright ; rather cloudy between 5 and 6 P.ii., but on the whole 



a very enjtjyable day. 

 3rd. — Eain heavy at -i a.m. ; thunder at S a.m. ; dull till about 11 a.m. ; aftei* 



that time very fine, bright, and warm. 

 Temperature nearly the same as last week, one ortwo days (notably June 1st) 

 being very cold. Owing to hot sun and cold winds the temperature of the 

 ground has continued to rise, while that of the air has been stationary or 

 cooler.— G. J. Svmons. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— Ju NE 4. 

 Supply and demand have both improved, and a steady amount of trade per- 

 vades both wholesale and retail markets, the fine display of plants and 

 flowers forming a considerable attraction for the general public. Prices havo 

 remained steady both iu English and foreign produce. Heavy consignments 

 of new Potatoes are again to hand li'om the Mediterranean, Portugal, France^ 

 Germany, and the Channel Islands. 



Apples .1 sieve 



Apricots doz. 



Cnerries ^ box 



Chestnuts bushel 



Currants i sieve 



Black do. 



FigB doz, 



Fubei-ts lb. 



Cobs lb. 



Gooseberries quart 



Grapes, hothouse lb. 



Lemons ^100 



Melons each 



Artichokes doz. 



Asparafius ^100 



French 



Beans. Kidney :if» 100 



Beet, Red doz 



Broccoli bundle 



Cabbage doz. 



Cap&icums %' 100 



Carrots bunch 



Caulitlower doz. 



Celery bundle 



Coleworta.. doz. bunches 

 Cucumbers each 



pickling doz. 



Endive doz. 



Fennel bunch 



GarJic lb. 



Herbs bunch 



HorseradiBh bundle 



Leeks bunch 



Lettuce duz. 



s. d. 



S 



2 



2 6 















G 







2 



S 



G 



S. d. 

 o.^ 



3 



4 

 

 







10 







2 6 



6 



12 



10 



I 8. d. 5. ds 



Mulberries ">lb. Otoo 



1 Nectarines doz. 15 30 



; Oranges ^100 4 10 



I Peacbes doz. 15 SO 



Pears, kitchen goz. 1 



dessei-t doz. 6 



Pine Apples lb. 



Plums i sieve 



Quinces doz. " 



Raspberries lb. 



Strawberries %> lb. G 



Walnuts buahel 15 



ditto ^ 100 2 















VEGETABLES. 



. d. S.d. 



OtoG 



Mushrooms pottle 



IWu&lard &. Cress. .punnet 

 Unions buthel 



pickling quait 



Parsley per doz. bunches 



Parsnips doz. 



Peas quart 



Potatoes bushel 



bidney do. 



Pound . do. 



Kadialies.. doz. bunches 



Phubarb bundle 



Salsafy bundle 



Savoys di'Z. 



Scorzonera bundle 



Sea-kale bftbket 



bhallota lb. 



Spinach bushel 



lomatoes duz. 



Turnips bunch 



VeRetable Marrows 



B. d. B. d. 

 0to2 " 







a 



2 



6 











1 



6 



1 

 



POULTRY MARKET.— June 4. 

 PuioES are still maintained, and the scarcity of Ducks is unusual. 

 B. d. B. d. 



Large Fowls C to 6 C 



- ~ ' 



buialifr ditto i 



CbickAtig n 



Goslings 7 



G^e^n Geese 



Ducklings 4 6 



4 



7 6 







5 



d. s. a. 

 to e 







Pheasants 



PHitiidges 



Hares 



Kabbi'.s 16 16 



Wildditto 9 10 



Pigeons 10 10 



